Cryotherapy FAQs

Cryotherapy is used for a variety of reasons. Our providers recommend sessions for clients who are suffering from an injury or recovering from a surgical procedure. Athletes who are looking to enhance performance and alleviate sore muscles will also benefit from whole body cryotherapy. The technique is also ideal for people seeking to improve general health and wellness through improved sleep, reduced stress and increased metabolism.

Ice packs are a form of local cryotherapy. However, nitrogen-based cryotherapy units allow you to more effectively cover the entire service area around an injury, reaching typically inaccessible areas. For example, for a shoulder injury, local cryotherapy would allow you to treat the entire joint area. Cryotherapy also allows you to better control the temperature during the entire icing period.

Everyone's response to cryotherapy is different, so it depends on how your body reacts. This is where our integrated approach makes a difference: our healthcare professionals will help you determine optimal frequency depending on your body’s need. It may take four to six sessions for some people to see signs of change, while others can experience relief after a single session. If your goal is overall health and wellness, you may find that a regular routine works best for you. As with any new regime, consistency is key and you will achieve better results with regular use.

That depends on a few things. First, what is the goal of using whole body cryotherapy? Recent studies show that if you are performing a strength training session with the goal of increasing muscle hypertrophy, it is best not to use whole body cryotherapy chamber for at least one hour after completing your workout. In the first hour following an intense strength workout, the body typically produces its own anti-inflammatory response. Using a cryotherapy chamber may interfere with this, though there are exceptions.

For example, endurance athletes or athletes who are training daily with heavy loads or intensities can make the body’s normal anti-inflammatory reaction unable to keep up. In this case, whole body cryotherapy can supplement the body’s natural anti-inflammatory process and help with recovery.

If cryotherapy is being used as a supplemental treatment to a physical therapy or training session to enhance blood flow to the muscle or joint, we recommend a whole body cryotherapy before the exercise session.

One must remember that people can perspire up to 10–15 minutes after a workout is complete. Any level of perspiration puts you at risk for skin irritation or a cold burn due to cooling of wet skin in the cryotherapy chamber. Therefore, we recommend our clients to shower after a workout or wait until they have stopped perspiring.

Most people can tolerate and enjoy the benefits of cryotherapy. However, you should NOT use whole body cryotherapy if you have any of the following conditions: pregnancy, hypothyroidism, narrowing of valves, crescent-shaped aorta and mitral valve, chronic disease of the respiratory system, severe hypertension (blood pressure >180/100 mm/Hg), acute or recent myocardial infarction (heart attack —need to be cleared for exercise), unstable angina pectoris, arrhythmia, symptomatic cardiovascular disease, cardiac pacemaker, acute or recent cerebrovascular disease (stroke — must be cleared for exercise), peripheral arterial occlusive disease, uncontrolled seizures, fever, symptomatic lung disorders, asthma, venous thrombosis, bleeding disorders, severe anemia, infection, claustrophobia, Raynaud’s Syndrome or intolerance to cold, acute kidney and urinary tract diseases or incontinence. If you are under the age of 18, we require parental consent.